Melone deserves nod for Struthers Muni Court judge
Newly appointed Judge Jennifer Ciccone took the bench in Struthers Municipal Court for the first time just one month before she will compete to keep the seat in the Nov. 7 election.
She faces opponent Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Magistrate James Melone, who already successfully defeated the previous incumbent, Judge Dominic Leone III, in the Democratic primary. Rather than serving out the remainder of his term following his defeat, Leone stepped down at the end of September.
If the scenario sounds confusing, that’s because it is.
What’s not confusing, however, is that both candidates vying for the Struthers bench are qualified and dedicated to serving the public and adjudicating cases fairly.
One, however, has years more experience than the other.
Melone, of Poland, has served as magistrate since 2017. Previously, he worked as a “street lawyer” representing clients in criminal defense, domestic relations, bankruptcy, juvenile, civil and business law. He has practiced law for more than 25 years.
Ciccone, of Poland, has practiced law for more than a decade and owns The Ciccone Law Firm. Previously, she worked as a civil commitment attorney for the Trumbull County Probate Court and served as a conflict prosecutor for the Village of New Middletown. She also worked as a conflict public defender in Trumbull County.
Melone pledges to serve professionally, and ensure people leave believing that justice was served.
“Our system only works if people have confidence in our court system,” he said.
He also wants to revamp the community service program, allowing each community served by the court to have an opportunity to benefit from sentences of community service. The court’s jurisdiction includes Struthers, Lowellville, New Middletown, Springfield Township and Poland village and township.
Melone spoke about creating a landlord-tenant mediation program. He also said he wants to establish better cooperation among all branches of government. That’s noteworthy because of the poor relationship that existed between the Struthers mayor’s office and former judge Leone.
Ciccone said she wants to address case management issues that have plagued the Struthers court, and noted she already added evening court hours since her appointment as judge.
She also hopes to modernize the court and spoke about implementing specialized dockets, including a drug court docket and victims’ rights programs.
Ciccone said the court would not govern a victims’ advocacy program, but would seek grants and then work with agencies as resources for victims.
While we applaud Ciccone’s desire to ensure fair treatment of victims, we caution that such an effort is generally handled by prosecutors because the judge and court overall need to remain neutral and should not take the side of the alleged victim nor the defendant in any case, in order to guarantee both sides are treated equally.
With more than 25 years as a practicing attorney, Melone argues he has significantly more experience than Ciccone, who earned her law degree 13 years ago.
Ciccone countered that most new municipal court judges enter without experience adjudicating cases. Pointing out that Melone hears mostly civil cases as a magistrate, she said, “Now that I’ve been appointed (judge), I can say I have more experience overseeing criminal cases than he does,” Ciccone said.
Perhaps that is true, but we believe Melone’s experience overall as an attorney and as a magistrate, where he has managed his docket efficiently for years, make him the more qualified candidate.
We would be remiss if we didn’t express our surprise that Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, moved forward with appointing the Struthers Municipal Court judge candidate who shared his political party affiliation.
That move came only 10 days after Judge Leone announced he would step down.
In most cases, the gubernatorial process of filling judge vacancies takes months, including extensive vetting and background checks. DeWine’s judicial appointment process also typically had set a deadline for applicants to apply. Instead, Ciccone was appointed based on two letters of recommendation and a videoconference interview via Zoom with the governor’s screening committee.
We are disappointed at this abbreviated and very political process that quickly pushed Ciccone into the post, possibly giving her an edge as incumbent over her opponent.
Ciccone told The Vindicator editorial board she believes she was appointed to the seat because she was the best candidate.
Melone maintains, however, he is the better candidate but did not apply because he was not invited to apply, nor was there any indication the governor was accepting applications for the post. Rather, Melone believed the post would not be filled due to the short amount of time until the election.
To be clear, our endorsement was not swayed by the political appointment. Rather, it is based on who we believe is the better candidate. That’s how we hope voters make their decisions, as well.
Because of his experience, we endorse James Melone for Struthers Municipal Court judge.
editorial@vindy.com
Melone deserves nod for Struthers Muni Court judge
Newly appointed Judge Jennifer Ciccone took the bench in Struthers Municipal Court for the first time just one month before she will compete to keep the seat in the Nov. 7 election.
She faces opponent Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Magistrate James Melone, who already successfully defeated the previous incumbent, Judge Dominic Leone III, in the Democratic primary. Rather than serving out the remainder of his term following his defeat, Leone stepped down at the end of September.
If the scenario sounds confusing, that’s because it is.
What’s not confusing, however, is that both candidates vying for the Struthers bench are qualified and dedicated to serving the public and adjudicating cases fairly.
One, however, has years more experience than the other.
Melone, of Poland, has served as magistrate since 2017. Previously, he worked as a “street lawyer” representing clients in criminal defense, domestic relations, bankruptcy, juvenile, civil and business law. He has practiced law for more than 25 years.
Ciccone, of Poland, has practiced law for more than a decade and owns The Ciccone Law Firm. Previously, she worked as a civil commitment attorney for the Trumbull County Probate Court and served as a conflict prosecutor for the Village of New Middletown. She also worked as a conflict public defender in Trumbull County.
Melone pledges to serve professionally, and ensure people leave believing that justice was served.
“Our system only works if people have confidence in our court system,” he said.
He also wants to revamp the community service program, allowing each community served by the court to have an opportunity to benefit from sentences of community service. The court’s jurisdiction includes Struthers, Lowellville, New Middletown, Springfield Township and Poland village and township.
Melone spoke about creating a landlord-tenant mediation program. He also said he wants to establish better cooperation among all branches of government. That’s noteworthy because of the poor relationship that existed between the Struthers mayor’s office and former judge Leone.
Ciccone said she wants to address case management issues that have plagued the Struthers court, and noted she already added evening court hours since her appointment as judge.
She also hopes to modernize the court and spoke about implementing specialized dockets, including a drug court docket and victims’ rights programs.
Ciccone said the court would not govern a victims’ advocacy program, but would seek grants and then work with agencies as resources for victims.
While we applaud Ciccone’s desire to ensure fair treatment of victims, we caution that such an effort is generally handled by prosecutors because the judge and court overall need to remain neutral and should not take the side of the alleged victim nor the defendant in any case, in order to guarantee both sides are treated equally.
With more than 25 years as a practicing attorney, Melone argues he has significantly more experience than Ciccone, who earned her law degree 13 years ago.
Ciccone countered that most new municipal court judges enter without experience adjudicating cases. Pointing out that Melone hears mostly civil cases as a magistrate, she said, “Now that I’ve been appointed (judge), I can say I have more experience overseeing criminal cases than he does,” Ciccone said.
Perhaps that is true, but we believe Melone’s experience overall as an attorney and as a magistrate, where he has managed his docket efficiently for years, make him the more qualified candidate.
We would be remiss if we didn’t express our surprise that Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, moved forward with appointing the Struthers Municipal Court judge candidate who shared his political party affiliation.
That move came only 10 days after Judge Leone announced he would step down.
In most cases, the gubernatorial process of filling judge vacancies takes months, including extensive vetting and background checks. DeWine’s judicial appointment process also typically had set a deadline for applicants to apply. Instead, Ciccone was appointed based on two letters of recommendation and a videoconference interview via Zoom with the governor’s screening committee.
We are disappointed at this abbreviated and very political process that quickly pushed Ciccone into the post, possibly giving her an edge as incumbent over her opponent.
Ciccone told The Vindicator editorial board she believes she was appointed to the seat because she was the best candidate.
Melone maintains, however, he is the better candidate but did not apply because he was not invited to apply, nor was there any indication the governor was accepting applications for the post. Rather, Melone believed the post would not be filled due to the short amount of time until the election.
To be clear, our endorsement was not swayed by the political appointment. Rather, it is based on who we believe is the better candidate. That’s how we hope voters make their decisions, as well.
Because of his experience, we endorse James Melone for Struthers Municipal Court judge.